Definitions for declensiondɪˈklɛn ʃən

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Random House Webster's College Dictionary

de•clen•siondɪˈklɛn ʃən(n.)

  1. the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives for categories such as case and number. the whole set of inflected forms of such a word, or the recital thereof in a fixed order. a class of such words having similar sets of inflected forms:

    the Latin second declension.

    Category: Grammar

  2. a bending, sloping, or moving downward.

  3. deterioration; decline.

Origin of declension:

1400–50; < OF declinaison < L dēclīnātiōdeclination

de•clen′sion•al(adj.)

Princeton's WordNet

  1. declension(noun)

    the inflection of nouns and pronouns and adjectives in Indo-European languages

  2. deterioration, decline in quality, declension, worsening(noun)

    process of changing to an inferior state

  3. descent, declivity, fall, decline, declination, declension, downslope(noun)

    a downward slope or bend

  4. declension(noun)

    a class of nouns or pronouns or adjectives in Indo-European languages having the same (or very similar) inflectional forms

    "the first declension in Latin"

Wiktionary

  1. declension(Noun)

    : A way of categorizing nouns, pronouns, or adjectives according to the inflections they receive.

    In Latin, 'amicus' belongs to the second declension. Most second-declension nouns end in '-i' in the genitive singular and '-um' in the accusative singular.

  2. declension(Noun)

    : The act of declining a word; the act of listing the inflections of a noun, pronoun or adjective in order.

  3. Origin: From declenson, from declinaison (French: déclinaison), from declinatio (gen. declinationis)

Webster Dictionary

  1. Declension(noun)

    the act or the state of declining; declination; descent; slope

  2. Declension(noun)

    a falling off towards a worse state; a downward tendency; deterioration; decay; as, the declension of virtue, of science, of a state, etc

  3. Declension(noun)

    act of courteously refusing; act of declining; a declinature; refusal; as, the declension of a nomination

  4. Declension(noun)

    inflection of nouns, adjectives, etc., according to the grammatical cases

  5. Declension(noun)

    the form of the inflection of a word declined by cases; as, the first or the second declension of nouns, adjectives, etc.

  6. Declension(noun)

    rehearsing a word as declined


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